Supreme Master: Cultivation Starts After Recruiting SSS-Grade Talent-Chapter 52 - Divine Vajra Physique

As they arrived atop the cliff, the atmosphere instantly changed.

The air was heavy with spiritual energy, and the wind howled like a wild beast. The once-distant storm clouds now hovered just overhead, swirling in dark, violent layers.

Xie Ren’s voice rang out clear despite the howling winds. "Yue, go sit over there."

He pointed to a patch of flat stone near the cliff’s edge. The area glowed faintly, surrounded by patterns of spiritual energy that shimmered in soft silver hues. It was a natural convergence point, strong enough to support a tribulation, yet stable enough not to collapse under the strain.

Lan Yue gave a nod. Her hands clenched at her sides for a moment before she forced them to relax. With calm steps, she walked forward.

Xie Ren turned to the rest of the group and added. "You all stay here. Getting too close is dangerous."

Roulan took a step forward, her small face filled with worry. "But Master, what about you?"

He offered her a faint smile and gently tapped her forehead. "I’ll go with her. You don’t need to worry. It’s just a little lightning."

Without waiting for a response, Xie Ren followed Lan Yue to the clearing.

Mo Wushuang and Chen Yinyin stood still, exchanging glances. Even with their cultivation, they knew better than to go any closer.

They had both faced tribulations in the past, and they knew the truth: no matter how powerful you were, the wrath of the heavens was never something to be taken lightly.

But what unsettled them most wasn’t just the storm; it was the strange feeling in the air. The power building here didn’t feel like a normal Golden Core advancement. This was something far higher and far more dangerous.

Suddenly, the cliff trembled. And without warning, a deep crimson mist rolled in from the edges of the clearing.

It moved like a tide, thick and choking, swallowing everything in front of them.

Within seconds, Xie Ren and Lan Yue vanished from view.

"What in the world...?" Su Jie muttered, eyes narrowed. "Is it starting already?"

He sent his spiritual sense forward, but it was instantly wiped out, as if it had never existed.

"I can’t sense anything," he said grimly. "Could this be another heavenly phenomenon?"

"No," Mo Wushuang said, her gaze locked on the red haze. "It’s one of his formations."

Su Jie blinked. "Formations? But when did he set it up? We only just arrived!"

He knew enough about cultivation to understand that formation mastery was a distinct branch. Placing a formation required rare materials and extensive preparation, something that took time and effort. Yet they had arrived only moments ago. How was this possible?

"You can’t judge him by normal standards," Mo Wushuang said quietly. "His methods don’t follow rules."

Her mind flashed back to the first day she arrived at Taishan Mountain. The formations she encountered there had seemed like works of art. Something she hadn’t understood then, and she didn’t now.

...

Inside the thick crimson mist, the world felt strangely quiet. The roar of thunder was muffled, as if swallowed by the heavy mist. The air was still, like time itself had slowed in this hidden space.

In the center of the formation, Xie Ren stood unmoved, hands folded behind his back. His sharp eyes scanned the fog, watching the faint movement of the swirling mist.

Nestled against his chest was the little fairy, her tiny wings flickering nervously.

"What’s this all for?" Xie Ren asked, curious. "You told me to keep everyone at a distance, and then you wrapped us in this thick mist. Is this meant to shield her from the tribulation?"

[It’s not for protection.]

[It’s to hide her from watching eyes.]

He blinked. "Hide her? From who?"

[Because of her special physique, there is a chance she will involuntarily trigger her nine-tail transformation during the tribulation. If others witness it... It could attract unwanted attention.]

The fairy’s wings fluttered anxiously. She glanced upward toward the darkening sky, as if the clouds themselves were watching.

[Special physiques like hers are exceedingly rare and exceedingly coveted.]

Xie Ren hummed thoughtfully. "Why not add a strong defense formation instead?"

[I could do that... but interfering with the heavenly tribulation would only make things worse. The Dao does not allow disturbance during such moments. Trying to block or redirect the lightning could anger the heavens and invite even greater disaster.]

He nodded slowly, understanding the delicate balance they faced. His gaze shifted to Lan Yue, who sat quietly on the stone floor.

Her legs were crossed in the lotus position, hands resting on her knees. Her eyes were closed tight, her brow furrowed deep with focus.

Around her body, faint streams of qi swirled like silver threads, reaching outward and drawing the heavy clouds closer, as if she were pulling the storm toward herself.

Xie Ren stepped a little nearer. "Are you afraid?"

Lan Yue’s eyelashes fluttered, but she did not open her eyes. Her voice came steady and clear. "As long as Master stands beside me... I fear nothing."

Hearing her, a smile curved on Xie Ren’s lips.

"Good," he said softly. "Now, focus. The only thing standing between you and the next step is that wall inside yourself. Tear it down."

Above the hidden formation, the sky cracked like splitting stone. Thunder rolled out, deeper and fiercer than before, shaking the heavens.

Coils of lightning twisted through the black clouds, writhing like giant silver serpents waking from a long slumber.

Inside the crimson fog, the little fairy trembled. Her wings fluttered wildly as she clung tighter to Xie Ren’s chest.

[Lord Immortal... I know you want to help her, but how are you planning to do that?] Her voice rang in his mind, tense and urgent.

[You can’t just block tribulation lightning, not unless you want the heavens to turn their fury on you instead!]

With a calm motion, Xie Ren raised his right arm. The air around it shimmered, warping slightly as if rejecting the natural flow of the world.

Beneath his sleeve, something began to move, bright patterns of spiritual light crawled under his skin like living script.

"It’s going to sting a little," he said casually, as though commenting on a morning stretch.

The fairy’s eyes widened in horror.

[Y-You must be joking!]

"Am I?" he replied with a half-smile, the corner of his mouth lifting with reckless confidence.

Xie Ren’s arm pulsed with golden light. The pattern had fully formed now, a chain of symbols that glowed like molten metal, wrapping from his shoulder to his palm.

He flexed his fingers once, feeling the surge of power.

"Let’s see what this ’Divine Vajra Physique’ of yours can do," he muttered, as if testing a new training technique and not about to stand against divine judgment.

[A/N: He had received ’Divine Vajra Physique’ in Chapter 3.]

The little fairy froze mid-air, then suddenly flailed in full panic.

[WAIT! WAIT!] she cried. [That physique boosts defense and healing, it’s not meant to tank tribulation head-on! Lord immortal, are you trying to turn into a roast duck?!]

Xie Ren shrugged. "I’ll be fine."

He said it with such confidence that the fairy didn’t know whether to scream or sob. She gawked at him for a second, her mind spinning.

[I don’t want to die like this!] she wailed. [I haven’t even lived a year! And I have yet to see Heavenly Dao cry, AAHHH!]

In a flash, her small body lit up with radiant light. A thin beam of white energy shot out from her palm and soared into the sky, pulsing with ancient energy.

A second later, silvery armor materialized over Xie Ren’s body. It wrapped around him from head to toe, an ethereal suit of armor that shimmered like moonlight, sleek and form-fitting as if forged by divine hands.

Even the little fairy got a tiny version of the same armor snapped around her little body. Her wings twitched through thin slits in the back, and her eyes peeked out from under a glowing helm.

She looked like a battle-hardened peanut.

Xie Ren glanced down and flexed his armored hand. "What’s this?"

[Emergency defensive armor,] she muttered, pouting. [It’s a backup function. Automatically activates when the host starts doing something stupid.]

She crossed her arms over her tiny chest and scowled.

[Don’t get used to it. It won’t block everything, it just takes the edge off. This isn’t some alley fight, it’s heavenly punishment.]

Xie Ren’s smirk grew wider. He turned his eyes toward the swirling black clouds above Lan Yue. The first bolt of lightning coiled like a silver dragon, ready to strike.

"That’ll do," he said quietly.

CRACK!

The sky split open with a sound like the world tearing apart.

A bolt of lightning shot down, thick as a towering tree trunk, jagged and wild like a beast’s fangs. It roared as it fell, screaming through the clouds, aiming straight for Lan Yue.

She didn’t flinch. But Xie Ren moved.

He stepped forward in a flash, raising his right arm, the same arm glowing with divine pattern and filled with spiritual might.

BOOM!

The strike hit like a mountain collapsing.

A wave of energy burst outward, tearing across the cliff and sending loose rocks flying in all directions.

The sheer force nearly knocked the little fairy off his chest. She clung to his clothes for dear life, her tiny body flapping in the wind like a leaf in a storm.

Xie Ren’s boots scraped across the stone, sliding back just an inch before he dug his feet in and stood firm. The white armor around him flared with light, absorbing most of the blow, but not all.

His right arm smoked. The Vajra pattern that had glowed with power now pulsed an angry red.

For a breath, it glowed like metal fresh from the forge... then slowly dimmed, fading back to gold.

But his Skin wasn’t untouched. Thin scorch marks ran along his forearm, blackened paths where the lightning had touched flesh beneath the armor.

He exhaled slowly. "Tch... That actually stung."

[WHAT DID YOU THINK WOULD HAPPEN?!] the fairy shrieked.

[You just grabbed Nascent Soul lightning with your hand! Your actual hand!]

Before she could yell any further, the sky growled louder.

The clouds above twisted, growing darker, denser.

This time, the lightning didn’t flash white. It turned violet. The color of wrath.